Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his second Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. With elections due in four states this year – West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam – Prabhu left passenger fares unchanged, in what was a widely expected move. He also announced several crowd-pleasing plans including more reserved coaches for women, WiFi at railway stations, thousands of bio toilets in trains, and added security. Three new super-fast trains – Humsafar, Tejas and Uday – were announced for reserved passengers. Investment targets have been set at Rs 1.2 lakh crore, and revenue generation at Rs 1.84 lakh crore.

Though Indian Railways transports 23 million people a day, decades of underinvestment has left the railways impoverished, and earnings from passenger and freight trains have consistently been on the decline. Moreover, the Centre has had to make allowances for the Seventh Pay Commission, which will cost it an additional Rs 32,000 crore. Railways spends 56% of its money on salaries.

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The ministry has also tried to dovetail all of the government’s flagship schemes into the railways, including Make In India, Swachh Bharat, Digital India, and Start-up India. Prabhu also announced his government's decision to rename railway porters, known as "coolies", as sahayaks, or helpers, "in line with the evolving image of Indian Railways". Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Railway Budget and said it will play a key role in the country's rejuvenation. He said it caters to all sections of society and stands out because it is infrastructure-led and will generate employment.

Here are some of the other announcements made by the railway minister, as reported by PTI:

  • Rs 8.5 lakh crore to be spent in five years to modernise rail infrastructure; Rs 1.21 lakh crore to be invested in 2016-17;  Rs 30,000 crore to be spent on passenger fares
  • Aastha circuit trains to connect important pilgrim centres; beautification of railway stations at pilgrimage centres, including Ajmer, Puri, Varanasi, Nagapattinam
  • Unreserved coaches with water, mobile-charging points
  • 50% more lower-berth quota for senior citizens
  • E-ticketing capacity raised to 7,200 per minute, up from 2,000 per minute
  • FM Radio service in trains
  • Bar-coded tickets and scanners
  • Optional travel insurance for passengers
  • Mobile app to deal with ticketing issues and complaints
  • Information boards in trains; GPS-based digital display inside coaches
  • Centre will tie up with state governments, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to improve suburban rail networks
  • 33% sub-quota and reserved middle berths for women
  • Railway universities will be set up to train skilled manpower; the first one will be at Baroda